THE CHOWAN HERALD
Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast
Volume LUV - No. 3?
Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, October 13,1988
Single Copies 25 Cents
Come In Plain
Wrappers
There's something a little
devious in the way the GOP
kingmakers try to lower ex
pectations for George Bush
and Dan Quayle when they
!*> must meet their Democratic
opponents face-to-face before a
nationwide audience.
Long before the Vice
President met Gov. Michael
Dukakis in their first debate
at Winston-Salem, his man
agers were saying that he was
not a good debater and would
be considered a winner if he
| managed to get through with
out a major blunder. And, de
spite the fact that he put his foot
in his mouth at least twice, he
was immediately hailed as
the victor by his manager,
Jim Baker, and his ever
ready partisans.
When asked to name three
defense programs he would
" eliminate if forced to econo
mize, he named two that had
already been discontinued by
the defense department many
months ago. And when asked
if his proposal to outlaw abor
tions would not make crimi
nals out of women electing to
use them, he said he hadn't
~.sorted out the penalties yet.
^ That made the elephant pa
rade bucket brigade jump to
its task of cleaning up behind
him. He had not intended, he
explained the next day, to
make criminals of women
having abortions, but-of .dee*
tors performing them. He did
not say what he would do if
j^vomen begin using abortion
pills now on the market and
he probably won't, consider
ing the success he has had
dealing with illicit drugs of
all sorts.
And long before Dan
Quayle met Lloyd Bentsen in
the vice presidential debate in
Omaha last Wednesday, the
<f||ews media were being fed
the same old stuff about
Quayle's low expectations by
the public. If he could just get
by without a major slip, he
would be considered a win
ner.
Well, sure enough, he lived
up to his low expectations and
was immediately crowned
mng of the hill by his mentor.
But he did not come off un
scathed. In reciting his
qualifications the third time
during the evening, he com
pared himself to Jack
Kennedy, saying he was just
as qualified as Kennedy was
when he ran for the presi
dency.
Continued On Page 4
Jones To
Visit Here
The public has been invited
to meet with Congressman
Walter B. Jones on Thursday,
| ^Ict. 20. He will njeet with
supporters at Carolines for
breakfast at 8 a.m.
For reservations, call
Warren Twiddy at 482-2163,
Nick George at 482-2138 or
George A. Byrum at 482-2131.
The Congressman joins a
growing list of politicians
I jMsiting Edenton this month.
I ™so scheduled is U.S. Sena
tor Terry Sanford next Mon
day at Boswell's Restaurant
for a noon luncheon.
On the Republican side,
| Jim Gardner, candidate for
v.k will visit Edenton on
ay for a gathering at
en Corral at 12:30
. Gov.;
FOOD PANTRY PRESENTATION-Martha Guttu, director
and Frank Cassell of the Edenton Food Pantry presented a
report to the Chowan County Commission Board last week on
their activities in helping meet the needs of indigent people.
Seated (1. to r.) are Board Chairman Joe Hollowell, County
Manager Cliff Copeland and Board Clerk Anne Spruill.
Hospital Unit
Plans Ongoing
Chowan County Commis
sioners agreed in principal
last week to underwrite any
possible loss that Chowan
Hospital might experience as
the result of construction of a
27 bed psychiatric unit.
Concern was expressed by
Philip Sidney McMullan
McMullan
Dies, 90
Philip Sidney McMullan,
90, of 100 S. Granville Street,
Edenton, the past President
and Chairman of the Board of
Edenton Cotton Mills from
1920 until his retirement in
1987, died Friday, October 7 in
Chowan Hospital.
A native of Perquimans
County, he was the son of the
late Sidney Merriman and
Penelope Whedbee McMullan
and the husband of the late
Annie Williams McMullan.
A community leader, he
served for 30 years on the
Edenton-Chowan School
Board, was a former member
of the Chowan County Board of
Elections and the Edenton
Utilities Board. He received
the Silver Beaver Award from
the Boy Scouts of America and
a public service award from
the Edenton-Chowan Cham
ber of Commerce.
He attended Trinity Col
lege (now Duke University)
and was a member of the
Duke University Alumni As
sociation's Half-Century
Club. He was a member of St.
Paul's Episcopal Church were
he served as a vestrymen.
McMullan was an Army
veteran of World War I and a
60-year member of Edenton's
Edward G. Bond Post 40 of the
Continued On Pago 4
the hospital's planning com
mittee when it was learned
that projected cost estimates of
the construction were revised
upward, by as much as
$250,000, after architects com
pleted a more detailed look at
the proposed unit.
Feasibility studies have
projected a need for 27 psychi
■WrfiHjeds For northeastern
North Carolina and there are
presently no psychiatric beds
within sixty miles of Eden
ton. The hospital signed an
agreement with Albemarle
Mental Health Center agree
ing to build the psychiatric
unit.
Originally, the hospital
had planned to contribute
$350,000 from depreciation
reserves to finance the con
struction. Plans now call for
financing the estimated con
struction cost of $850,000 with
a $100,000 grant from the
Duke Endowment and
$750,000 borrowed from a third
party lender.
The county has proposed to
guarantee that the hospital
will not absorb a cash loss to
the hospital during the period
of time that the debt service for
the amount of construction
costs is being retired.
Additionally, the commis
sion board was told that occu
pancy rates are expected to be
high, that revenues generated
by the unit are expected to
cover additional expenses
and that "there is very little
chance that county monies
would ever have to be placed
in the operation of the psychi
atric unit."
The hospital board must
now decide whether to give the
construction plans the green
light.
Citizens'
Help Asked
The Chowan County Sher
iffs Dept, has asked that any
one finding a hammer along
Soundside Road (Base Road)
notify the department immed
iately.
Anyone finding the ham
mer is asked to handle it
carefully, since it might be
related to the death of Donald
Meeler on Monday, October 3.
Authorities conducted a
search fbr the hammer along/
the roadside on Wednesday of
last week without result
Fire Prevention Week
Fire Scifety Tips Given
This week is Fire Preven
tion Week in the county and
across the state. Locally, the
Edenton Fire Dept, hosted
school children at the fire sta
tion for tours, a slide presen
tation on fire prevention and
procedures to use in evacuat
ing the bedroom of a house af
ter the smoke detector has
sounded.
Fire Chief Lynn Perry took
the slide presentation and
props for the escape scene on
the road as well. He took the
fire prevention message to
classes at White Oak School
during the week.
Of this state's Fire Pre
vention Week observance,
Insurance Commissioner
and State Fire Marshal, Jim
Long said, "Protecting our
selves and our families from
fire is extremely important
and now is an excellent time
to check our homes for fire
safety."
The theme for this year's
observance is "Smoke Detec
tors - A Sound You Can Live
With.” Long recommends
that families install smoke
detectors on each level of the
home and check those already
in place to make sure they are
working properly.
"Smoke detectors do save
lives," Long said, "They give
families those precious extra
minutes of warning so they
can get out of their homes be
fore it's too late."
Safety tips the state is
stressing are use of smoke
detectors in the home; using
extra care with portable heat
ers; remembering the "stop,
drop and roll" technique; and
development and practicing
of a home escape plan.
Chief Perry noted that peo
ple often neglect to check
smoke detectors for weak or
dead batteries. In addition,
some disconnect smoke de
tectors set off by cooking odors
and forget to reconnect them,
rendering them useless.
A major concern of fire of
ficials as the weather turns
cold is chimney fires. Perry
recommends that chimneys
be inspected and cleaned by
professional chimney sweeps
annually before lighting
fires. He said that flues from
woodburning stoves also
should be checked and
cleaned. Oil furnaces should
be checked by professionals
before use.
"We want everyone in
North Carolina to stay warm
during the fall and coming
winter and we want them to do
it safely," Long said.
P
FIRE PREVENTI0N--Lt. Junious Britton of the Edenton Fire Department explains fire
equipment to a second grade class from D.F. Walker School as teacher Mrs. Lucy Meade
Harless (right) and fireman A1 Ward and teacher aide Mrs. Beatrice Stanley (background)
look on. The tour of the fire station was part of Fire Prevention Week.
Town Utility Employees
Are Honored This Week
At a special gathering of
council members and utilities
department employees Mon
day morning, Edenton Mayor
John Dowd proclaimed this
week as "Public Power
Week."
The proclamation states,
"We the citizens of the Town
of Edenton are proud to operate
a community-owned electric
utility and we the citizens . . .
are both consumers and own
ers of our public power sys
tem.
"Edenton Electric Utility
provides our homes, busi
nesses, farms and local gov
ernment agencies with reli
able, efficient and cost-effec
tive electricity by employing
sound business practices de
signed to ensure the best pos
sible service at competitive
rates and Edenton Electric
Utility is one of a community
of 2,204 publicly owned elec
tric utilities in the U.S."
In the commemoration,
utility employees were pre
sented with caps and T-shirts
emblazoned with appropriate
logos as well as special
bumper stickers. Blue signs
with white lettering have been
placed at entrances to the town
that proclaim ""A Public
Power Community."
Dowd used one incident to
illustrate the immediate ser
vice that customers receive
when they experience electri
cal trouble.
A 97-year-old woman
called the utility department
last Wednesday evening at 6
p.m. when she had an electri
cian working at her home.
The electric meter had burned
up while work was going on.
General Line Foreman
Melvin Lane was in the
shower when his wife took the
call. He responded within 20
minutes and replaced the
meter. The electricity was re
stored within 15 minutes.
"We respond immediately
to calls," Lane commented.
"We have been called to out
ages where life-support equip
ment was involved.”
The electric utility services
the town, from the town to the
sound bridge on N.C. 37, all of
Soundside Road (including
Cape Colony and the Yeopim
area) and from the town to the
river bridge along U.S. 17, a
total of 3,300 customers.
T
Melvin Lane
UTILITY EMPLOYEES HONORED-Employees of the town's utilities department were
honored at a special meeting Monday by town officials during Public Power Week. Utilities
Director Hawk Crummey holds a sign that reads "A Public Power Community" while electric
department employees wear caps made for the occasion.